(draft) Cloudy dark yellow. Large white head that faded quickly. A very nice aroma of bananas and cloves and yeast. The flavor was good, there was a dryness to it that surprised me. After the first sip, that dryness carried through to the aroma. Strange, but pretty darn good.

(draft) During lunch in Cincinnati one day I looked over the sparse beer selection and chose to try Abita Amber since I'd never had it before. I chose poorly. Water with beer-flavoring added. The tap water taste overpowered the beer taste. Very unsatisfactory.

(draft) Was described as an ESB by the bartender. Instead a fairly decent brown ale, with the lack of flavor characteristic (to me at least) of Abita beers. Was good enough to drink, but not good enough to have another.

(bottle) Very cloudy dark brown. Huge heaping head that lasted forever. Aroma of dark fruits and malts. Flavor a little tamer than I was expecting, mostly dominated by the alcohol burn at the finish. Too much alcohol for the flavor provided. I won't bother with this one again, I don't think. Maybe if I can get it on tap.

(draft) Pours a dark gold, with a huge white head. Looks like a lager. Smoky aroma and flavor, pretty good. Reminds me of Spezial. The oak smoke definitely gives this a different flavor than most smoked beers.

(bottle) Golden color, minimal head. Aroma of stale hops. Flavor of a citrusy stale lager tamed just a bit by smoke. The flavor wasn't too bad, but the damn aroma was disgusting. I poured most of the bottle out.

I was not expecting to like this. I don't know why. A nice clear dark amber color. The aroma of a smoky campfire. The smoke flavor is fairly apparent, and it's just smoke - no bacon or grapes or anything else to taint the flavor. I liked this a lot.

The first time I had this, I wasn't very impressed. Now, four years later, I see that my palate has become sophisticated enough for me to recognize this for what it really is. A truly great smoked beer. Can best be described as a more intense Marzen.

(bottle) The first thing I noticed was the fantastic aroma. The second thing I noticed was the color. Very dark - almost like a porter. Not what I was expecting from a weizen. The entire beer, in fact, was not what I was expecting. Instead of toning down the smoke to keep a fair balance with the light-flavored wheat, they left the smoke intact. The result was a smoke beer, with no hint at all of its wheat heritage. This is not to say that I didn't like it, because I did. I just didn't like it as much as I expected to.

(draft) Stupidest name I've heard in a long time. Clear copper in color, with a nice whitish head. Balanced aroma of hops and malts and smoke. Flavor of malts and smoke. A little cloying. Quite good, a tad sweet.

As good as it gets. Dark and smoky. Not too bitter and not too sweet. There's a bit of a "tang" to it that I can't describe any better. This beer can be aged for years too, though I doubt that I'd ever have the discipline to do it. Absolutely yummy. The best there is.

(bottle) A decent head that faded very quickly. Aroma was mainly chocolate, with perhaps some cola as well. Flavor was a mix of coffee, chocolate, and cola, with maybe a touch of juniper. A decent and safe beer from one of my favorite breweries.

(draft) Clear brownish-amber. No head worth noting. A nice clean aroma of apple peels and, of all things, bananas. Flavor was mild and smooth. Finish had a mild but lingering alcohol bite. Pretty good.

(bottle) Black with a decent head that faded quickly. Aroma of roasted malts, burnt coffee, chocolate, and hops. The mouthfeel was a little thin, and the flavor was much more tame than the aroma had led me to believe. A very bright-tasting stout, but still pretty good.

(bottle) Hazy orange. Decent head that faded quickly. Aroma of malts and oak. Flavor was very strong with oak and bourbon - much more of each than I was expecting from the aroma. A substantial alcohol burn at the finish belied the 11% ABV of this beer. A good beer, but a little gimicky for my tastes. I'd like to try this on tap someday - maybe it would go down a little more smoothly.

(draft) Yes, Virginia, there is indeed such a thing as too much malt. This beer just needed something to balance it out. I don't know what it needed. It had nothing but malt. Seven different kinds according to the web page.

(bottle) Hazy brown. Minimal head. Aroma is complex and very strong, with malts and hops and nothing else. Flavor is mostly weird malts. Most quads feature dark fruit flavors, this is all malts. The two inches of sediment in the bottom of the bottle grossed me out. Overall, not bad, not great.

(bottle) Clear golden in color. Decent head, good lacing. Intoxicating aroma of orange peels and apple peels, with some unidentifiable spices thrown in for kicks. Flavor is fairly mild, a little drying because of the 9% ABV. After swallowing a sip, I immediately wanted another sip. This cycle repeated until the bottle was gone. Yummy in an undescribable way.

(draft) Black in color, with a thin tan lacy head that faded quickly. Aroma of malts and light chocolate and dark fruits. Medium mouthfeel - not quite syrupy. The flavor is fairly tame, mostly malts and chocolate. I like this. Dangerous though, because the high ABV is hidden very well.

I spent the entire pint trying to decide (a) if I liked it or not, and (b) what the heck I was drinking. Apparently Anchor changes the recipe for their Christmas Ale each year, and they keep that recipe pretty secret. If I had to guess I'd say the best way to describe this year's version would be "smoky nutmeg" but I could be way off base about the nutmeg part. There was definitely some smoky something in there. At the end I decided I did like it, but more than one in a given session would probably be too much.

(draft) Cloudy dark brown. Minimal head, minimal aroma. Flavor this year reminds me of dark fruits and coffee. Tastes like it has more alcohol than it really does. I doubt I'll bother to have any more of this.

(bottle) Didn't get much of a head with this one. Strong roasted malt aroma. Flavor was biased a little more towards coffee than chocolate, but malty sweetness was the primary flavor. Pretty good, but not great.

(bottle) Cloudy brown. No head, as in zero head. Weird. Aroma of malts and dark fruits. Mostly malts. Flavor more of the same. A little subdued overall. Good though. I'd love to try this in draft form.

(draft) One of my favorites. I seemed to enjoy this more and more each time I had it. Probably the best Scotch Ale I've had. The flavor is hard to describe. I think that this one of those beers that you have to drink to understand just how good it is.

(draft) I had high hopes for this one. Blueberry flavor in a beer would definitely be something new and unusual for me. This actually ended up being my least favorite beer of the weekend. It tasted to me like an IPA. If there was any berry component to the flavor it was too subtle for me to detect it behind all the damn hops.

(bottle) Pours a cloudy brown, with a hint of green. Weird. No appreciable head. The aroma is malty and fruity, with a hint of tartness. Medium mouthfeel. The flavor is sharp and fruity, and the finish is sweet and smooth. Good.

(draft) Clear copperish amber. Average head that dissipated quickly. Aroma almost undetectable, but of apple peels and spices. Flavor started out very weak, but as my tongue became accustomed to it, I ended up like this beer a lot. A 5.2% Belgian session beer. Pretty damn cool.

(draft) I was sure I was enjoying a nice spiced ale but I see in the commercial description that the flavor is all malts. Very good, though a little sneaky as the alcohol doesn't really register. Anyone attempting to sample a wide range of beers cannot pass this up.

(bottle) Dark bronze. Nice firm head. I got a lot of dark fruity sweetness. I mean a lot. The very high (14.9%) ABV wasn't apparent except that I just knew that all that sweetness was covering up something dangerous. This is pretty much the opposite of a session beer. I liked it though.

At 10% alcohol I knew this would be the only one of these I'd have. I liked the taste of this a lot. I detected a definite bourbon odor, and I asked if it was aged in an old bourbon barrel but the bartenders didn't think so. There wasn't really any bourbon to the taste so I may be insane.

Recommended to me because of my recent infatuation with Belgian ales, this definitely did not disappoint. A nice reddish color and a decent head with a fair amount of lacing. For me, as with all Belgians, the overwhelming flavor is that of apples. I can drink this in complete comfort. It's just yummy. Not quite as complex as a tripel I had a few weeks ago, but with a better overall flavor.

(draft) Very dark brown with a stupidly huge amount of foam. Aroma is malt and molasses. Flavor is more of the same. The alcohol is very well-hidden. A good beer, but not a great one. Needs more sizzle or something.

(bottle) Given to me by a homebrewing friend. No description or name given, it was all up to me. Pours a nice amber/honey color with lots of foam. The aroma is very sweet - almost too sweet - and that sweetness is quite evident in the taste as well. A good brown ale, but perhaps a little too cloying for me to ever spend an evening drinking it. Much better, of course, than anything I've ever made.

(bottle) Looked like grapefruit juice except for a huge white head. Citrusy aroma. Slight citrus flavor, but not so much that it became disgusting. Fizzy and other than that, a fairly mild flavor. Too many ingrediants in this beer, none stand out. It's a mish-mash.

(draft) Lacing doesn't even begin to describe the foam that clung to my glass. A very nice stout - reminded me a lot of Murphy's. There was just a hint of chocolate, but nothing overpowering or pretentious at all. Yummy.

(bottle) I was quite impressed by this. An aroma that I can only describe as chocolately-grapey. A flavor that stayed with me from the time my lips touched it to the time I swallowed - in other words, consistently good. Quite yummy. I wish I'd had another one.

(draft) Black with brown foam. Strong coffee aroma. Flavor not as intense as the aroma led me to expect. Not very good at all, but I dislike coffee flavor in beer so I didn't expect to like this. I gave this beer a decent rating (instead of swill) because they seem to have at least tried.

(bottle) Black with thin tan head. Mild aroma of bourbon. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor more intense and bourbony that the aroma had hinted. As an oatmeal stout, there isn't much flavor except for the bourbon. Pretty good, though gimmicky.

(draft) Dark ruby-colored. Decent head. No aroma at all. The first sip was really digusting. It tasted like cherry cough syrup. The next several sips got gradually better, as other flavors became detectable. The end of the glass was halfway decent.

(draft) A nicely balanced ale that's probably getting a bit of an undeserved backlash for being so prevalent. With that said, it is a little boring. I'd drink this to drink, not for the flavor, which is decent but average.

(draft) This beer, while not a wheat beer, tasted exactly like I'd always expected what beers to taste like. It had no characteristics whatsoever. No sweetness. No bitterness. Just a slightly filling texture. All in all it was the best thing I drank tonight.

(can) Nice and creamy, though that could have been because of the widget. Compared to Guinness, a little sweeter, with a a subtle chocolate flavor instead of coffee. I liked it, and would probably like it more if I can ever find it on tap.

(draft) Black with a nice creamy white head. Subdued aroma of malts and dark chocolate. Creamy mouthfeel. Very nice flavor, balanced between chocolate and licorice. A bit of a sharp tang at first, but a very smooth finish. Quite good.

(bottle) Nobody else has said it, so I will. This beer had a greenish tint to it. There, I've said it. Aside from the odd coloring, this was a pretty decent beer. The bar had it listed as a smoked beer, so I was a little disappointed to find an ESB instead, but it was quite decent. Actually reminded me more of a Alt than an ESB.

(draft) Black with a nice tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and dark, maybe even burnt, chocolates. Flavor was fairly intense of malts, with some chocolate and a touch of coffee. The high alcohol content was hidden very well. Really good, possibly yummy. I'll have to have some more when I can.

(draft) Smells like old socks. Looks like a lager. Tastes fantastic. Reminds me of the winter ales from the established Belgian breweries. Apples and other, unidentifiable, fruits predominate. A very surprising beer from one of my favorite breweries. Yummy.

(draft) Cloudy brown, with a nice long-lasting head. Aroma of stale hops and malts. The taste was malty and nutty, with a fairly bitter finish that became more tolerable as the glass became emptier. Nothing to write home about, but drinkable.

(bottle) Very intense aroma as soon as the cap was removed. No head to speak of. After the first few sips that were nothing but alcohol burn, the rest of this went down quite nicely. Too much coffee and too little chocolate for it to ever be a real favorite. I got some cola from this too, especially in the aroma.

(draft) Just a decent fairly generic brown ale. More sweet than most I suppose, and not malty-sweet but sugar-sweet. If that makes any sense. Sometimes, when I'm drinking this, I get an aroma that reminds me of root beer. Weird, but quite good.

(draft) No aroma whatsoever. The first couple of sips reminded me more of cranberries than cherries. About halfway thourgh the glass I decided that it wasn't too bad and ordered another pint. A little sour, a little sweet. Really quite drinkable though.

(draft) Oh, Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, where have you been all my life? This is as close to the perfect stout as I've ever had. All of the flavor of an imperial, but without the high ABV and without the alcohol burn. My new favorite non-chocolate stout in the entire world. Yummy.

(draft) Fizzy clear light amber in color. Nice white head. Aroma of floral hops and rye. Tastes like it smells. Creamy mouthfeel. Aromatic hops and a hint of rye. Could use more rye. Still good, though, and the balance got better as the glass got emptier.

Aside: This is my 750th beer review here. I should have a beer to celebrate!

(draft) This seems to be a favorite, but I just don't get it. The smell of old socks was just too much for me. I couldn't finish the glass.

UPDATE September 2012
Okay, I tried it again. The aroma was a mixture of floral and piney hops. The flavor seemed to be a decent balance between the two. Im upgrading this to decent, but that's as far as I'll go.

(draft) Served in a glass that was way too cold. There were ice crystals in the beer. Once it had thawed out a little, this was a pretty good beer. Very much a German-style wheat, but with the tiniest little bite of hops in the finish. I liked it.

(draft) Hazy yellow. Strong aroma of cloves, yeast, and bananas. Maybe some vanilla in there. Flavor was like the aroma, except there seemed to be roasted malt in the thing too. Weird for a hefeweizen, but pretty good.

(draft) Fizzy (?!?!?) dark brown, almost black. Light chocolate aroma. Mouthfeel is watery and creamy. The fizziness is very weird in a porter. Flavor of watery chocolate and a touch of roasted malt. Good flavor, but not very much of it, so this gets only a decent rating.

A commonly-available beer that I put off drinking simply because of its availability - reasoning that something so widely accepted must be bland and boring. I was quite wrong (see Newcastle for another example of my flawed logic). This is a very nice beer that went down very easily. I think I could drink it all night, and that's not something I could say about most Belgians.

(bottle) Clear light amber. Large whitish head. Not much of an aroma or flavor with this one. Everything was very subtle - too subtle. I don't think I'll bother with this again. Decent is all I can say.

(draft) That nice copper color was a welcome sight to an old altbier drinker. This beer has a pretty good balance - maybe a little on the bitter side. I also think it's changed a little for the worse since the brewery split apart several months ago.

update 080605: I've had this several times in both bottled and draft form. The bottled form tastes better to me. Go figure.

This was my first taste of a barleywine, and I suppose it was okay. Just imagine regular wine without any grapey taste, and add a hint of hops. That's what this tasted like. It was okay, but I cannot imagine having more than one in an evening.

(draft) This beer that I didn't care for a year ago has either been changed or (more likely) my own tastes have changed. I found this to be a very good porter, even with the slight bitterness to the finish.

(draft) First of all, I can't decide if this is a stupid name for a beer, or a clever one. I had a small sample first, and like it enough to have another pour. Kind of a slightly hazy amber color, with a smallish head that lasted long enough. Flavor was pretty much a blend of American and German wheats, as was the aroma. A little too fizzy and hoppy for me to like it a lot, but still not bad at all.

(draft) Their Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout, but aged for three years. The results are a much more intense borboun aroma and flavor. Still pretty good, but maybe a touch too intense for me. I like the regular version better.

(draft) A small sample didn't kill me, so I had more. Hazy light copper. Decent white head. Aroma mild for this style, with a faint off undertone that reminded me of a dunkel more than anything else. Fairly full mouthfeel, and mild flavor, but again with that weird undertone that I didn't care for that much. Decent, but a struggle to drink.

A very dark red. Bourbon aroma is very faint - almost not noticeable. The flavor is that of a very mild stout with only the slightest hint of bourbon showing up in the finish. Not too bad. Quite good actually. Yummy, in fact.

(bottle) No foam at all. I mean none. I've seen tap water with a bigger head. Other than that, poured a slightly hazy orange. Taste was, as expected, fairly flat and generic. Yeasty and bland in flavor, this beer did grow on me as time went by. I'd love to try this in draft form someday. Maybe there'll be some fizz then.

(bottle) Pours black, with a minimal tan head that faded quickly. Light aroma of roasted malts and chocolate. Flavor was pretty much the same - roasted malt and chocolate. The finish was a little drying, but otherwise the 11% ABV is hidden very well. A very good beer.

(draft) The first time I saw this, they were calling it "Smokey the Beer." What a stupid name. This beer tasted terrible for the first few ounces, then once my palate had been numbed enough, it tasted pretty damn good. A lot like their regular, nonsmoked porter. It's probably the same beer. Just a touch
of smoked malt, a little chocolate. I liked it.

(draft) Clear dark orange in color, this beer didn't seem to have much of an aroma. So I was surprised to find such a funky and citrusy flavor. To be fair, this beer may have clashed greatly with the chocolately porter I'd had earlier, but I don't think I'd have liked it all that much anyway. I only drank a few sips, then I gave the rest away.

(draft) Black with a minimal brown head. Aroma of roasted malts. Creamy mouthfeel. Nice and malty flavor, with a slight alcohol burn at the finish. A good beer, but dangerous because the 12.5% ABV is almost undetectable.

(draft) Hazy yellow, with tons of foam. This beer is advertised as a spiced Belgian wheat. I didn't get any spices though. I got yeast and bananas and wheat, all more apparent in the aroma than in the flavor. It's a good and neutral example of the style to me. I liked it.

(draft) Hazy brown. White head that pulled a quick disappearing act. Mild aroma of roasted malts. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor surprisingly strong of roasted malts. A bit of a bitter hoppy finish. I disagree with this beer's classification, but not with its taste. Damn good.

(bottle) Clear dark copper. A lighter aroma that I was expecting; mostly of malts and caramel. The flavor is quite dry and it finishes more like an IPA than anything else. They're calling this a barleywine, but there's none of the weirdness that I usually associated with that style. Decent is all I can say.

(bottle) Hazy and fizzy brown, with a smallish head that fizzes away fairly quickly. Aroma of woods and roasted malts. Mustier than usual for this style, I think. Medium mouthfeel. Nice malty flavor. A bit of molasses in there, too, but not enough to make it gross. A good beer, maybe a yummy one.

(bottle) Black, of course. Fairly sharp aroma of what I want to call cola. Small tan head. Thin watery mouthfeel. Flavor is very subdued and hard to describe. I doubt that I'll bother buying it again. Decent is all I can say.

(bottle) The color of dark cola. No head whatsoever. Aroma was weird. Dark fruits reminded me of a strong Belgian. Surprising to find this aroma in an imperial stout. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor was surprisingly good. Fruity and malty. Definitely different. I have another bottle in my fridge, and I'm looking forward to opening it soon.

(draft) Looks like a hazy pale lager. An odd aroma of what I guess is Belgian yeast. Flavor a bit like a saison, but weaker. It looked so much like a lager that I think I imagined lagerish components to the flavor and the finish that weren't really there. Decent, but that's it.

(draft) Black with a large tan head. Fantastic chocolate and malt aroma. The flavor is chocolately and roasty. Very roasty. I'm not even sure that's a word, but I'm using it anyway. Pretty damn good. The 10.6% ABV is very well hidden.

(draft) Black with a nice tan head. Light aroma of chocolate and roasted malts. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor of roasted malts and a little smoke and a little chocolate. Wow. A yummy beer, though it could use more of everything.

(bottle) Clear medium-dark amber. No head, some fizz. Aroma of malt and dried hops. Flavor of burnt malt and stale hops. Quite fucking disgusting. I only took a few sips before giving up. LIfe's too short to waste drinking beer like this.

(bottle) Clear dark amber. Minimal head. Aroma of hops and malts. Flavor pretty good. Mostly malty sweetness with a touch of grass or something like that. A touch of hoppiness at the end that didn't gross me out.

(draft) Hazy golden in color, with a large head that shrank quickly. Fairly standard aroma and flavor for a Belgian of this style - so pretty good. There was a tiny bit of unexpected creaminess as it swirled in my mouth. The finish was a little drying, but not so much as to be obnoxious. A pretty good beer.

(draft) Pale clear gold. Slight metallic aroma and flavor. There are certainly worse beers in the world, but there are also millions of better beers. I giving this a decent rating because I'm feeling generous.

(draft) Slightly hazy golden. Looked like a lager. Aroma and flavor of, as the name suggests, orange lolipops. Mouthfeel was smooth and creamy. Not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be. Actually decent.

(draft) I've rated this a little higher than most brown ales because there was something special about it. I don't know what, though. There was a slightly spicy aroma and flavor. Whatever it was, it was damn good.

(draft) A nice beer. Not nearly as sweet as other tripels I've have. I got a subtle undertone that reminded me of smoke. There was very little head, though this may have been caused by the filthy glass. I liked it a lot, but there are a zillion better Belgians out there.

(bottle) Dark amber. Decent head with lots of fizz. The cork nearly took my eye out when it popped. A nice sharp and fruity aroma. Maybe some floral scent in there too. Flavor more of the same, with maybe an added touch of cola. The sediment at the bottom of the bottle grossed me out.

(draft 2002 vintage) A nice reddish-brown. Had a fruit component that wasn't the apples I'm used to from Belgians. I'm going to call the flavor a mix of cherries and beets. Not too bad, but not worth a second glass.

(bottle) Slightly hazy orange. Nice aroma of pumpkin and spices. Flavor much more tame than the aroma led me to believe, but still very good. The expected pumpkin and spices, leaning a but more toward the former. Very good.

(draft) Dark clear copper. Good head. Smelled like a barleywine, and pretty much tasted like one too. That weird flavor of beets or prunes or whatever it is - I don't like it. This beer did grow on me a little as the glass got more empty, but I still can't really say that I liked it.

(bottle) I don't like lagers at all, but since this is probably the most watered-down lager there is, I suppose that I can stand it when I have to. I mean, it doesn't kill me. I just wish that it would.

(draft) Smelled better than it tasted, but it smelled fantastic. Nice and malty with some spice aroma that I couldn't identify. Taste was very similar to the Great Lakes Christmas Ale - if you like that, you'll like this.

UPDAYE 111805: Not similar at all to the Great Lakes brew. Still delicious though. Sweet and complex, I got a little bit of cola flavor that I hadn't noticed before. Too strong for more than one in a night, and that sucks.

I thought this beer smelled and looked fantastic. I'm not really sure what I was expecting tastewise - I suppose a combination of a Belgian and a Brown. What I got was a strange-tasting beer that I can't really say I liked all that much. It just tasted like something was wrong with it, but I couldn't point to any one thing.

(draft) Black, with a dark tan head. Aroma of mostly chocolate and roasted malts. Flavor chocolately and something else, something unusual. OMG, it's coconut! I'm allergic to coconut! So I didn't drink but the one sip. That one sip was actually pretty good.

(draft) A murky weird orange color. Decent head and lacing. Aroma of citrus and wheat. Flavor was decent, but then a bitter finish came out of nowhere. Almost like a rye beer. Life's too short to waste on beer like this. I only had a little. Barely decent, if you're into the style.

I had a little of this. I remember liking it, but quite frankly I was too drunk to remember much else about it. I will provide a real review the next chance I get.

Update 050909: Black, with a small tan head that faded quickly to nothing. Fairly strong aroma and flavor of roasted chocolate and malts. A little too bitter, mostly because of the 8% ABV. Decent is all I can say at this point.

(draft) Clear dark amber. Good long-lasting head. No detectable aroma. The mouthfeel is a little watery, and the flavor is mostly roasted malts. A decent beer, but kind of a waste of time. The alcohol was hidden very well, a little too well, I think.

A stout, not just an ale, which was news to me. I didn't get much of an aroma from this, and the blueberry flavor was more subtle that I was expecting. The blueberries showed up mostly in the finish, which had absolutely no trace of bitterness. The undertones were mostly roasted malt, and the flavor slanted a tad more towards coffee than chocolate. A very good beer, worth the wait.

(mixture) I mixed 1/2 Bells Cherry Ale with 1/2 BBC Dark Star Porter, and ended up with something greater than the sum of its parts. The too bitter porter balanced very nicely with the too sweet/sour Bells, and it was just excellent. I, apparently, am a frickin' genius.

(mixture) I mixed Bell's Cherry Ale and Young's Double Chocolate Stout in a 1-to-1 ratio. Just a fantastic combination. A nice deep red color. Chocolate flavor that's followed by a slightly sour finish. I'd definitely buy this if it was available commercially. Yummy.

(mixture) I mixed Rogue Chocolate Stout and NABC Cone Smoker in a 1:1 ratio. I'd been expecting these two very different flavors to elevate each other to new heights. But that's not what happened. They pretty much cancelled each other out. Good thing I didn't waste too much beer with this experiment.

(mixture) I mixed 1/2 NABC Tunnel Vision with 1/2 Rogue Smoke Ale. For whatever reason, I figured that the honey sweetness of the Tunnel Vision and the smoky bitterness of the Rogue Smoke would play off each other quite well. I was right. I would drink the stuff if it was available commercially.

(mixture) I mixed Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier and Spezial Rauchbier on a 1:1 ratio. Amazing head, courtesy of the Weihenstephaner. Aroma of bananas and cloves, slightly subdued. Flavor of a German wheat beer. The smoke shows up in the finish. Yummy. I'm a freakin' genius.

(mixture) I mixed Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier and Delirium Tremens in the 16.9:11.2 ratio dictated to me by the bottle sizes. Mixing what are perhaps the ultimate representations of German wheat and Belgian strong ales, I'm not quite sure what I was expecting to accomplish. One thing that I definitely wasn't expecting was to create a beer that would make me believe in God. Well, so much for expectations. Way beyond yummy.

(bottle) Pouring this into a glass resulted in about a 5/1 head/beer ratio. I actually lost patience waiting for the head to dissipate and ended up disrupting it with my finger. Once I got to the actual beer I really enjoyed it. A little lighter in both flavor and ABV than other Belgians I've enjoyed, so more suitable as a session beer. Black flecks that settled to the bottom of my glass turned me off a little.

Cloudy yellow with a head that lasted throughout the glass. A great belgian beer. Well carbonated and fairly thick-tasting. This was as close to drinking hard cider as I think I could stand. I liked this beer a lot, but at a whopping 10% alcohol I know that one will always be my limit. One of my all-time favorites.

(bottle) Highly recommended by several people, but I'm not really sure why. I've never had cherry wine, but I'm convinced that I now know what it would taste like. Very sweet, very winey. No bitterness to balance the sweetness at all. Not very good.

(bottle/draft) Poured an orange/red color, with the massive head I usually find in De Dolle beers. Aroma much more massive and much more complex than their other offerings. Along with the standard Belgian apple tones, I also got what I'll call cherries and apricots. Did not taste like it had 12% alcohol in it. A little sour in the finish.

(bottle) Hazy light brown, with a fizzy white head that faded quickly. Light and clean aroma of apples and grass. Thinnish mouthfeel. Flavor light and typical for the style. Uninspiring finish, despite the 9% ABV. Good, but there are lots of better tripels out there.

(bottle) Black with a medium-sized tan head. Mild aroma of roasted malts and some peat. Watery mouthfeel. Nasty flavor with a bitter licoricey finish. This beer may have gone bad, but for now I'm rating it as piss.

(bottle) Pours very dark brown, with a nice beige head that lingers. Aroma of alcohol and malts. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of alcohol and lightly roasted malts. Tastes like the finish is going to be overwhelming, but then it's silky smooth. Yummy.

(bottle) Pours the color of cola with a ridiculous (about 98%) head. Aroma of smoke and a hint of pepper. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor a little bourbony and weird, which was a surprise. Drying finish because of the pepper. Decent is all I can say.

(draft) A nice cloudy copper color that was quite intriguing. Nothing particularly special about the taste - actually this beer seemed a little too well-balanced. All of the flavors seemed to cancel each other out.

(bottle) Very dark, very fruity aroma. Taste reminded me of dark cherry wine. The second half of my glass - once the head had dissipated - was much better than the first half. Not as complex as the Delirium Noel, but yummy in its own way.

Dark brownish red with a very dense head that lasted forever. A very nice completion to the Delirium triad. Not as much spice as I was perhaps expecting, but very drinkable. More similar to Delirium Nocturnum than to Tremens. Yummy.

(bottle) Black with a firm brown head. Strong aroma of licorice and chocolate. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of about a million things, chocolate and licorice and bourbon and oak among them. Just a bit overwhelming. Good, though.

(bottle) Hazy brown. Minimal head. Strong alcohol aroma, with some malts and dark fruits as well. Flavor fairly well balanced. A bit of an alcohol burn, but not too bad. No barley wine weirdness, so that's cool.

(bottle) Cloudy reddish amber. Not much head. Aroma of musty yeast and alcohol and raspberries. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of alcohol and raspberries. Noticeable alcohol burn at the finish, but tolerable. A gimmicky, but decent, beer.

Black with a decent brown head. Aroma of roasted malts and I'm gonna say coffee. Flavor like the aroma, but with a fairly strong alcohol finish. Decent at first then, as with most high high ABV beers, my taste buds were beaten into submission and this beer became good.

(draft) Clear bronze. A thin tan head that faded quickly and left nice lacing behind. Besides the unusual (for me) pumpkin flavor, there was a strange bitterness that came and went before the finish. Once my tastebuds had become numb to the bitterness this was a pretty good beer.

(bottle) Pale orange, slightly fizzy. Minimal head that went away before I could tell what color it was. Floral and malty aroma. Flavor lightly fruity. There's a bit of sourness that surprised me. Not too bad. Decent, I'd say. Maybe it would be better on tap.

(draft) Looked like a lager. Nice white head. Very unusual aroma that I never could place. Flavor was mild and maltier than I was expecting. Finish a little bitter, because of the chiles I suppose. Stronger than it tastes. Decent.

(bottle) Cloudy brown with minimal head. Very strong flavor, bordering on the ridiculous. Almost sour, almost overpowering cherry flavor. I didn't finish the bottle. Probably not worth having again unless I can try it on tap.

(bottle) Slightly hazy orange. Quite fizzy in both aroma and flavor. Hints of apples, expected for the style, but the fizz was the predominate characteristic. Reminiscent of champagne. Good, but not great.

(bottle) Had this because it's all there was. Clear dark gold in color, No head to speak of. Also no aroma, certainly no honey aroma. Flavor was tame and safe, and the honey additive finally showed up in the finish, which was sweet and coating. A decent beer, but nothing I'd ever buy.

(draft) Light brown, with a white head that seems to be lasting. Very light aroma of yeasts and apple peels. Sharp and clean flavor, watery mouthfeel. Decent is all I can say, and I can barely say that.

(draft) Looks like a very pale lager. Nine white head. Aroma is mild and musty. Flavor is very mild of apples. Not too bad. Not much point, though. at 6.8%, it's way too strong for the flavor it presents.

(bottle) Very dark red, with trivial head and lacing. Fairly strong aroma of malts and dark fruits and raisins. Mouthfeel very thin. The flavor was undetectable at first, but it later revealed a light touch of coffee and an even lighter touch of malts. Decent is probably being a little generous.

(bottle) Clear dark orange. Nice head that lasted forever. Balanced aroma of pumpkin and spices. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor starts with pumpkin and finishes with spices. Just a hint of bitterness. Very good.

(bottle) The color of iced tea. Pretty large head. Flavor and aroma were what I was expecting. A German wheat, which I like, crossed with a dunkel, which I normally do not like. The end-result was certainly drinkable, but not noteworthy. Decent.

(bottle) The color of hazy cola, with a large beige head that faded quickly. Aroma was malty and maybe a little skunked. Flavor was pretty much the same as the aroma. I don't think this beer was actually skunked, it just had that strange taste that I associate with bocks and barleywines. Not the worst beer I've ever had.

(draft) Not what I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise instead. The main flavor I got was caramel, but there was really an awful lot of complexity behind that. Everything was subdued, but noticeable. Pretty good.

(draft) Hazy light yellow. Nice white head. Aroma of hops and apples. Watery mouthfeel. Flavor much milder than I was expecting. Mostly light Apple but with a slightly hoppy finish. Nothing wrong with this beer, but I'm not sure it's worthy of the name.

(bottle) Pours very dark red with a small brown head. Balanced aroma of roasted malkts and alcohol. Maybe a touch of blueberries and smoke. Creamy mouthfeel. Nice mild and smooth flavor typical of imperial stouts. The blueberries at the finish cancel out the usual alcohol bite. Very smooth and very good.

(draft) Dark brown, duh. Smallish tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and molasses. Weird for what's ostensibly a brown ale. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor of burnt molasses, but in a good way. A very good way, actually.

(can) It wasn't the battery acid that I remember from the occasional sips I took as a kid. As lagers go, it's probably better than most American ones. That's not saying much though. Hoppy, with a little bit of a citrus tang that didn't make me want to vomit. Not after just one at least. I didn't risk another.

(bottle) Cloudy brown. Ridiculous heaping head. Tame aroma, just like all saisons. Flavor was tame as well, with just a hint of some unidentified spices. Pretty good, though. I'd like to try this in draft form.

(draft) Looks nice, with good lacing. A fairly intense coffee/licorice flavor that didn't appeal to me very much. The high alcohol is fairly apparent. The second half of the glass tasted better to my numbed taste buds than the first half had.

(draft) This beer knocked me on my ass. Very dark red, nearly black, with a decent head and more lacing than I expected. The flavor was a little intense. I kept wanting to call this a Winter warmer without the Winter part. A beer to celebrate happiness or drown sorrows, not a beer to simply enjoy.

(bottle) You know, I wasn?t really expecting to like this. Most ryes are just too strange for me. But this one was actually pretty decent. There was nothing notable about it though, so I probably won?t bother to have it again.

(draft) The first sip of this was just disgusting, but I vowed to drink a couple of inches to give it a fair test. At about halfway through the pint I decide I sorta liked it. By the end of the pint I wanted another one. An odd-tasting beer that just grew on me. Not sure I can describe the taste.

(bottle) Hazy orange in color. No head whatsoever. Light aroma of wheat and hops and smoke. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor a slightly tart wheat beer but with a very light touch of smoke. Much more tame and less weird than I was expecting. Good, though.

(draft) Hazy dark brown, with no head to speak of. According to JauntyGirl, this smells like hairspray. I myself would say that it smells of roasted malt and alcohol. Fairly thin mouthfeel, with the flavor of roasted malts and overriip cherries. No alcohol burn at all. Pretty darn good.

(draft) Had this a year ago and didn't see anything special about it. Had it again last night and really liked it a lot. I thought I detected roasted nutmeg but don't see that mentioned anywhere. Very much a Winter ale, and very much a good one.

(draft) I know I've had this before, but it was a long time ago. I'm not sure if "roasty" is a word, but it should be because it would be the perfect word to describe this beer. Not bad, but not great.

(draft) Highly recommended by all who'd had it at Rich O's. Definitely a Christmas Ale - all sorts of complex flavors. I thought the fruitiness was a little bit too much but I suppose it was needed to mask all of that alcohol.

(bottle) Looks like a lager, and smells like a lager. Flavor is decent. A little stale, and a little musty. I'm thinking that the bottle may have gone bad. I only drank a little, and threw the rest away.

(draft) Not at all what I was expecting, as it was listed as "chestnut amber" on the beer board at Rich O's. Clear reddish amber in color. A pretty decent head that lasted throughout the glass. A faint fruity aroma - maybe cherries. Mouthfeel was medium-thick and clean. Flavor was very well-balanced. Malts and dark fruits and a tinge of hoppy bitterness. The finish was surprisingly fruity. A damn good beer.

(draft) I guess this place has gone out of business. Hmmm, I wonder how long this beer has been sitting in the keg. The first thing I noticed was that it was quite thin. Like water. It took me a long time to figure out how to describe the flavor. That's because there was nothing. It was all roasted malt. I think I'd have liked this better if it wasn't so old-tasting.

(draft) Very dark ruby-colored, with a nice tan head. Aroma mostly of malts, with some sweet chocolate and caramel in there. Mouthfeel thicker than I was expecting. Flavor pretty good, but tastes more like a malty porter than a Scotch ale to me. Very good, though.

(draft) This beer was simply hard to drink. Part of the problem was that it really clashed with the beer I'd just finished, but most of the problem was that it tasted like cranberry juice. It did get better towards the end of the glass.

(draft) I've never been a big fan of oak aged brews, but the oak undertones of this are subtle enough that they're hardly noticeable. Just enough chocolate and coffee flavor to almost mask the alcohol burn, but not quite. Pretty good.

(bottle) Hazy dark brown with a minimal beige head. Aroma of malts and dark fruits and alcohol. Mouthfeel creamy and sharp, if that makes any sense. Flavor quite malty and fruity. The alcohol burns a little at the finish, but it's quite well-hidden otherwise. Good.

(bottle) Black with a decent tan head. Incredible aroma of chocolate and smoke and grapes. Thin mouthfeel, a little watery. Flavor is good and chocolatey, but thin. No apparent smoke. A little disappointing, but still good.

They may call it an "Abbey Tripel" but to me this is a Belgian Ale, and it had all of the appleness that I've come to expect from Belgians, but this beer had a lot of other characteristics that I cannot even begin to describe. It was one of the most complex beers I've ever had. Yummy.

Update 080605: Yes, I am now aware that an Abbey Tripel is a type of Belgian Ale.

Another winner from this excellent brewery. Very complex but well balanced. Starts out sweet, with a complicated blend of spices that I won't try to describe, followed by a surprising bit of cinnamon heat at the end. Nothing overpowering. Yummy.

(draft) Had a small sample and decided it wouldn't kill me, so I ordered a half-pint. Hazy ruby in color, with a big tan head. Aroma of floral hops. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor mostly hoppy, the rye only shows up after I swallow. A decent beer.

(bottle) Usually I know to steer clear of any beer calling itself a blonde, but this was listed as a Belgian Triple in the flyer, so I tried it. I liked it. There was nothing outstanding about it, but neither was there anything wrong with it. Maybe a watered-down Delirium tremens. Good.

(draft) A nice spicy aroma that led to a fairly tame-tasting beer. There was a slight mustiness to it that didn't exactly thrill me. By the second half of the glass the head had dissipated so both the spice and the must had gone. What was left was good but not great.

(draft) Very dark red - almost black. A malty aroma that almost suggested burnt malts. A little thin, but with a nice flavor. Much more malty than regular guinness, and much more drinkable. Pretty damn good.

(draft) Not at all what I was expecting. This seems more like a Christmas ale than anythng else. I got a lot of fruit that I'll call raspberry. A yummy beer. The high ABV is very well hidden - a little too well perhaps.

(bottle) Black with ridiculous head. Aroma of dark-roasted malts and chocolate. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor is much like the aroma. There's a gentle touch of liqorice at the finish that almost, but not quite, masks the alcohol burn. Quite yummy.

(bottle) Black with a ridiculous tan head. Aroma of very roasted malts and nuts. Medium mouthfeel, with an immediate alcohol burn. Flavor a little subdued except for the burn. Malty and roasty. A touch of coffee and a touch of chocolate. Pretty damn good.

(bottle) Cloudy brown, with a smallish off-white head. Aroma of juniper and other woods, with a very faint smoke taint. Flavor is almost overwhelmingly of juniper and other evergreen flavors. Finish is a little dry. The first few sips weren't very good, but the this beer began to taste pretty good to me.

(bottle) Fizzy brown with a huge tan head. Complex aroma with wheat and smoked malts and floral hops. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Very nice flavor that starts smoky and finishes clean, with a bit of an alcohol bite. Very yummy.

(bottle) Clear dark amber, with a decent beige head. Enticing aroma of malts and caramel. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor mild, with malts and dark fruits. A fairly strong alcohol burn is present all the way to the finish. Pretty damn good.

(draft) I told the drunk next to me (he had asked) that I predicted that this would be my favorite beer of the night. I was wrong. The smoke was reminiscent of bacon, or perhaps beef jerky. Probably the only smoked beer that I've ever had that I didn't like.

(bottle) Despite the name Hefeweizen, this is an American wheat beer. Despite that, I liked it anyway. There was none of the hop bitterness that I usually associate with this style. The thing tasted like a Belgian wheat, and it tasted good.

The web page says cinnamon and nutmeg. I got none of that. What I got was ambrosia. The most unusual beer I've ever had, and it took me a while to pin down what I was experiencing. Copper colored, good lacing, and an actual flower aroma. The flavor was incredibly indescribable, but I'll try anyway. Take a beautiful woman, have her bathe in lilacs and Mr. Bubble. Now perform oral sex on her. That's how good this beer was.

UPDATE 12/24/07: I've been able to have this in bottles recently. The aroma is as I remembered, the flavor is very good, but maybe not quite the orgasmic experience I remembered from before. Very much a session beer. One of my favorites.

(draft) The first few sips, understandably, brought to mind a beer with ginger ale poured into it. By the end of the glass I'd decided that I did like this beer, and that I wished that it was even a little stranger than it was. Very unusual, and very drinkable.

(draft) Tastes like a pilsner until you swallow, that's when the funkiness takes over. I guess the funkiness was due to the sake yeasts used on the rice. My enjoyment of this beer grew with each sip, and I missed it when it was gone.

(bottle) Recommended to me because I asked for something with a lighter taste. A cloudy yellow color that looked to me like a cross between a wheat and a lager - neither of which I care for. The taste was actually pretty decent though. The bartender was telling me about all of these different flavor components but I didn't really get any of them. Just a fairly plain, safe beer.

(bottle) Clear medium amber in color. Small head. Aroma of pumpkin and spices. The flavor was more spicy and metallic than I was expecting. There was also some hop bitterness that I didn't care for at all. Decent is all I can say.

(draft) Color of pale straw. Decent head and lacing. Light aroma of wheat and blueberry. Thin mouthfeel. Flavor of tap water and blueberry. Decent, but not good. No bitterness, but not much of anything at all. A more strongly flavored version would probably be very good.

(bottle) Smelled fantastic. The first sip was actually a little bit disgusting. I wasn't expecting fizzy citrus. Having said that, however, I did finish the glass, and then another one, and then the rest of the bottle, so I couldn't have hated it that much. Probably not worth having again though.

(draft) Smelled like snot, but that might have been because I was developing a cold. Served too warm for my tastes, and I almost never say that. A very creamy and smooth chocolatey porter. It contains more alcohol than I'd have guessed. I'd like to try this again once they get the cooler fixed.

(draft) Came highly recommended for some reason. Looked like a standard unfiltered German wheat. Smelled like a standard unfiltered American wheat. Flavor was like they took a good German wheat and poured grapefruit juice into it. I managed to force down six ounces before I gave up on this beer. Not worth my time.

(draft) Very dark red, with a light pink head that shrank but lasted. There was some discussion as to what the aroma was, and it was decided that this smells like Luden's cough drops. Flavor is cherries and cranberries. No alcohol burn at all. Quite good, but also quite strange.

(bottle) Zero carbonation. Zero fizz. This lack of head reminded me of every NABC beer ever made. It was a very nice copper color, and it had a very nice and sweet flavor. I'd love to try this in draft form someday, but I don't really expect that to happen. This would get a yummy rating except for its flatness.

(draft) Clear amber in color. No head to speak of. Very strong aroma of coconuts, of all things. Mouthfeel was fairly thin. Coconut predominates the flavor, just like it does the aroma. Smells like suntan lotion,a nd tastes like what I imagine suntan lotion tastes like. After an inch or so was gone, this started to taste a little better. What was strange was that I got absolutely zero indication of this beer's alleged bourbon influence.

(bottle) Cloudy dark brown. Nice tan head. Very surprising aroma of roasted coffee and wood chips. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor drying and fizzy, mostly of roasted coffee. Not as gross as I've made it seem. A decent beer, that might be better on a really cold night.

(draft) Nowhere on the tap did it have the word lager. That's false advertising as far as I'm concerned, but so is the lack of the phrase watery baby bunny piss. This just might give a Stella a run for its money as the weakest non-American lager in the world.

(bottle) Hazy dark gold, smallish head, some lacing. A nice clean aroma. The flavor is not too bad. A little musty for some reason. Given a choice between this and the quad, you should always take the quad. Always.

(bottle) Hazy copper, with a decent head that faded quickly. The aroma is malts and dobblebock weirdness. No smoke in the aroma, which did not bode well for me. The smoke did, however, show up in the flavor, and it showed up nicely. The flavor was very well balanced, with hops and malts and smoke, plus the expected dopplebock weirdness. I liked this a lot, and I wasn't expecting to like it at all.

(draft) Not much to say about this beer. Nothing stood out at all. A little thinner than I was expecting. No coffee, no chocolate, no licorice. Just a bit of a milky feel to it. I guess that's why they call it Milk Stout.

(bottle) Almost completely black. Huge heaping head. Heavenly smoked malt aroma. From under the massive layer of foam, some chocolate notes rose and made themselves known. The mouthfeel is a lot thinner than I was expecting. Flavor is intensely sweet. Some smoke in the finish. After the first few sips, I became numb to the sweetness, and the overall balance of the beer became evident. Quite yummy.

(draft) Clear dark copper in color. Good head and lacing. Strong spice and malt aroma and flavor. Mouthfeel seemed a little watery at first, but it seemed to thicken as the glass emptied. Flavor is nutmeg and cinnamon and a touch of citrus. A lingering slightly hoppy finish. A yummy beer.

(draft) Clear yellow. Head faded quickly. Aroma typical for the style, with a little mustiness. Mild flavor of apples, with a hint of alcohol burn at the finish. Does not taste like it's 9% ABV. Decent, a little bland.

(bottle) Pours black, with a thin whitish head. Aroma and flavor of roasted malts and coffee. The coffee was very understated, so it didn't bother me at all. This is a very good malty stout. Extremely drinkable.

(draft) This beer is quite simply excellent. Brewed and sold only in the Northwest, it's exemplifying a level of quality and taste that all microbreweries should strive to meet instead of just churning out random recipies with unusual labels. Hoppy, but with a smooth underlying finsh that never quite goes away - it just fades.

(draft) I've never been a big fan of bock beers. I'm still not. I spent quite a bit of time trying to come up with a way to describe this beer. I detected coffee, chocolate, malt, and hops, all in miniscule amounts. There were no citrus components to the taste and for that I was grateful.

(draft) Pours cloudy brown with a minimal tan head. Nice light aroma of chocolate and hay. Watery mouthfeel. Flavor of water with some wheat and chocolate, more fizzy than I expected. Pretty good, actually.

(bottle) Hazy gold with lots of fizz. Good-sized head. Aroma fairly standard for Belgian ales. Flavor quite yummy. The usual for this style, but with some tiny hints of spices and maybe even some caramel in there. One of the best.

(bottle) Hazy light amber. Huge creamy head that was a bit of a hassle. Flavor was fairly mild for such a strong beer. Mostly apple peels and light yeast. The high alcohol is barely detecable, so this is a pretty dangerous beer.

(bottle) Ridiculous huge head. Clear dark ruby in color. Very strong aroma of malts and dark fruits, especially while the foam was still present. Flavor not quite as strong as the aroma led me to expect. Darks fruits predominated. A fairly harsh alcohol finish for the first few sips, but after that, this beer was surpringly smooth. The alcohol is hidden very well.

(draft) Hazy bronze. Huge heaping head. Aroma and flavor a little faint for a tripel. I was astonished to discover that this beer has 10% ABV - it's almost undetectable. I like this, but there are a lot of better tripels out there.

(bottle) Dark brown with a light beige head. Aroma of caramel and molasses. Fizzy mouthfeel. A touch of smoky flavor, but mostly it tastes like a candy bar. Decent and drinkable, however, just not worth the price.

(draft) Dark red, and sour. The first sip pretty much tells the whol story of this beer. I recommend it to anyone wanting to try something different, and almost everyone who's tried it has liked it a lot.

(draft) Dark clear amber in color, with a nice whitish head. A light aroma of malts, and not much else. Flavor wasn't too bad at all. Not as hoppy as I'd been expecting. Mostly malts and just a touch of tanginess. A decent and drinkable beer.

(bottle) Clear very dark amber, with a medium-sized cream head. Aroma of chocolates and coffee. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor was surprisingly good, with hints of chocolates and roasted malts. The finish was quite dry - not because of alcohol, but because of the roasted malts. This beer is damn good, almost yummy, and I don't care who makes it.

(draft) Pours black with a nice brown head. Very enticing aroma of roasted malts and chocolate and coffee. Medium mouthfeel. Very good flavor of roasted malts. Quite roasty, and quite yummy. A world-class porter.

Clear dark orange. Kind of a weird color. No head to speak of. An aroma of malts and hops that was pretty enticing. Medium mouthfeel. The flavor was extremely good. The hops seemed to be a mixture of the piney kind (which I hate) and the flowery kind (which I love) and there was also a strong malty component to the flavor, and a tiny hint of smoke. Definitely very interesting and drinkable. I'd love to try this on tap someday. Yummy.

(draft) Cloudy dark brown, with a large tan head. Aroma of dark fruits and something else - maybe caramel? The flavor was much more subdued than my earlier sips had led me to expect. The beer tasted a little flat and/or one dimensional. Not really anything wrong with it, but not worth having again.

(bottle) Clear fizzy yellow. Thin head that hung in there pretty well. The aroma was of armpits and feet - it was skunked. Mouthfeel was thin. No flavor to speak of, though there was a hoppy sharpness when it first entered the mouth. No detectable finish except a coating skunkiness. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemies.

(draft) I asked them to leave the orange wedge out, but I needn't have bothered. This beer was overflowing with citrus aroma and flavor. I should have known better than to even try it. Anyway, it was decent, which is better than anything else I've had from this place.

(draft) Quite disgusting. Has that tingly mouthfeel that I detest in lagers. I was suurprised to find in this, ostensibly an ale. This is a beer trying to appeal to the swill drinking masses and the good beer drinkers at the same time. It fails at both.

The bartender didn't know if it was a German-style or and American-style wheat, so I just had a sampler glass. It's American-style, so I didn't like it. The honey was not apparent except that the usual hop bitterness I find in this style was not there. Bland and boring.

Despite the name, this is an oatmeal stout aged in used Jack Daniel's barrels. The bartender says that every beer in the place is "lager-style" which to me means yeast. Whatever they call it, this beer is yummy.

(bottle) The color of very dark cola, with a medium tan head. Aroma of everything. Roasted malts and coffee and and bourbon and wine and dark fruits and even chocolate. Smooth mouthfeel. Very busy flavor with a lot of different flavors all fighting for supremacy. A touch of alcohol burn from the sip through the finish. A very yummy beer. Also, this is my 800th rating!

(draft) Black with minimal beige head that faded quickly. Aroma and flavor chocolatey and smoky. Both understated, but balanced nicely. Good, but could use more of everything. I was very excited about this new beer, so I guess it disappointed me a little.

Update: I had a small sample of a new batch, and it was quite sour. I didn't like it as much. Downgrading to simply decent.

For a beer with the word "bitter" in the name it wasn't bad at all. A lot darker and more complex than I expected.

Update 060805: I've had a couple new incarnations of this since my original entry. I've vowed that this will never touch my lips again. The bitterness I've experience with my last few attempts is just unbearable.

This is what I've been waiting for! A Belgian that won't kill me if I have more than one in a night! Very good, it reminded me of NABC's Tunnel Vision except not quite as sweet. Could use a little more carbonation, and it lacks the appley taste I've become accustomed to from Belgians. I liked it a lot, and I'm looking forward to the next batch to see if they up the carbonation a little.

(draft) Wow! The regular Bob's 15B is decent, if a tad bland. The aging has transformed this into a fantastic beer. A dark brownish-red hue, very little head, some lacing. Very strong bourbon aroma at first that subsides about halfway though the glass. The thing I like most about this beer, aside from the wonderful aroma, is the nearly instantaneous finish. There is no aftertaste to taint the next sip.

(draft) I didn't like this beer when it was first introduced, but they seem to have tweaked the recipe, and now I like it a lot. Malty and chocolatey. I will have much more of this, at least until they change the recipe again.

(draft) Stupid name, I think they've given up there. The beer was black. More than black. It was anti-light. Very little foam, as is typical for NABC beers. Not much of an aroma, just a touch of smoky malt. Fairly thick and creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is a bit sharp and smoky, surprising after the tame aroma. Finish is creamy smoke. I liked it, so odds are good that they'll never make it again.

The Bourbondaddy is a stout aged in a used bourbon barrel. I had this last year at about this time, and I remember liking it, but I don't remember much else about it. This time around I actually paid attention to what I was drinking. It's a little bitter at first, but after that it's very good. Nothing extremely special, it tastes the way it should - a medium stout with a little bourbon flavor added.

(draft) Cloudy cola-colored. No head, so quite typical of NABC. Aroma of oak and smoke, kinda intriguing. Flavor was a blast of oak and fruity wine. No apparent smoke at all. Decent is all I can say about this one.

(draft) Pretty bland unless it's the first beer of the night. I remain sad that Rich O's pulled Newcastle in favor of this one. A mild malt and coffee flavor. Nothing wrong with this beer, but nothing particularly right either.

(draft) This beer has gone through a few different incarnations, all leading up to this, what may be the ultimate smoked ale. Dark brown, minimal head. Malty aroma with a teasing hint of smoke. The first couple of sips are sometimes bitter, but that usually fades quickly and all that's left is yumminess. I really wish that this were available more often.

(draft) Just had a small sample of this, as IPA is probably my least favorite style. This didn't taste too bad until I swallowed it, then the hoppiness made itself known. A pretty heavy beer, one that I probably won't bother having again. A little flowery in the flavor.

(draft) Clear dark copper in color. Decent head that faded quickly. Aroma of molasses and hops, and flavor more of the same. The finish was much more smooth than the flavor indicated. I liked this beer a lot. Easily one of my favorites from NABC.

(Update 03/20-08: I've downgraded this beer from yummy to good. Apparently they didn't like that I enjoyed it so much, so they fucked with the recipe.)

(draft) Fizzy light orange in color. Decent white head that faded quickly. Aroma of oak and smoke and oranges - all very light. Fizzy mouthfeel. Just a touch of smoke and oak and some weirdness that may be the oak. A stupid hoppy finish that I could have done without. Not bad at all. Could use more of everything, though. Except the hops.

(draft) First time drinking the non-bourbonized version of this stout. I got an almost overpowering sense of chocolate - both in the aroma and the flavor. Pretty good, but would probably be too much for me to wrap an evening around. I was pleased to detect no coffee or licorice at all.

(draft) Clear amber, with a decent head that actually seemed to hold up fairly well. Aroma of light smoke and metallic hops. Mouthfeel was that of dirty dish water, and the flavor was more of the same. I don't know what the finish was like because I spit it back into the glass instead of swallowing it. I was very disappointed with this.

UPDATE 091007: I tried this beer for a third and final time this evening. I actually managed to swallow three times. I was not going to risk a fourth time. Just disgusting.

(draft) Dark red, bordering on purple. Nice tan head. Slightly hoppy aroma, so scary to me, but flavor of a decent and safe red ale. Kind of hard to pin this one down to a certain style. Worth drinking, but probably not worth drinking another.

(draft) I didn't expect to like this beer, and I guess I was right. It wasn't too bad though. Besides the expected bitter finish, the main thing that I noticed was the almost buttery mouthfeel. Not a great description, but I only had the one sample glass.

(draft) Black with a decent tan head which completely disappeared within one minute.. Strong aroma of roasted malt and a touch of chocoloate. Flavor is like the aroma. Mostly roasted malt with a touch of chocolate. And no hop bitterness! Yay! I really like this beer, so I'l probably never see it again once this batch is gone. I'd better drink up while I can.

(draft) Dirty gold. Zero fizz. Has a sweet aroma, if that makes any sense. Flavor is quite sweet with some odd undescribable undertones. Pretty good, but dangerous because the alcohol is very well hidden.

(draft) I'd never call myself a pilsner fan, so I didn't have great expectations for this beer. Having said that, this just wasn't very good. A little citrusy, and a little bit of some odd flavor that I cannot pin down. Must be the corn. Hey, at least I tried it.

(draft) Cloudy brown. No foam (duh). Aroma of sugar and unidentifiable spices. Flavor is decent - reminds me of pumpkins. There's a slight citrus tang at the finish that I could certainly have lived without.

(draft) Hazy dark amber. Flavor and aroma were both fairly light. Cinnamon and vanilla and nutmeg, if I had to make a guess. There was absolutely no bitterness and no citrus, so I liked this. Could have used more of whatever it had.

(draft) Dark and sweet. There was a slight bitterness to the finish that made me want to take another sip right away. The description says molasses, but I didn't get any of that. I got more of a fruity flavor that might have been plums or cherries. A very pleasant surprise was that it's not that strong (7% ABV). A very good beer that I will probably drink until it's gone.

UPDATE 011408: This year's version seems a bit more malty than that of previous years. Also, I finally detected some of the molasses that's always been advertised. I can't say that this year's version is better than before, but I also can't say that it's any worse.

(draft) Hazy brown with a light beige head. Aroma of malts and something weird. Flavor more of the same, with some smoke thrown in. I have no idea what the weird ingredient is, but I like it. A good beer.

(draft) Hazy light brown. Good head that faded quickly. The aroma is of malts and apples and, of course for this brewery, hops. The mouthfeel is a little thin, as is the flavor. It's got a good flavor, though, it just needs a bit more of it.

What a scary beer! It tastes very good, with no bitternes at all, and just the right amount of carbonation. The scary part is that it's over 8% alcohol, and that'll sneak up on you real quick if you're not careful.

UPDATE 02/27/2009: Back after four years, the new version of Solidarity has 10% ABV instead of 8.5%. So, not quite as sneaky as it used to be. I still like it, just not as much.

(cask) I guess I was expecting something bitter. You know, because of the name of the beer. This wasn't bitter at all. The aroma was malty and a little flowery. My first impression of the flavor was that it was watery. That watery impression did fade by the time I finished the glass. This beer is very easy to drink. Not my favorite though.

(draft) Dark gold. There's an unidentifiable (by me at least) aroma and flavor, both reminiscent of evergreen shrubbery. The finish is drying and long-lasting. It kind of reminds me of when I was a kid and I'd chew on Sassafras leaves. The finish is the most notable characteristic. A decent beer.

(draft) Looked and smelled fantastic - good enough that I pushed past my initial dislike of the taste to give it a fair shot. Eventually the bitterness wore me out, and I ended up giving about half the pint away. I can understand the appeal of this beer, it just doesn't happen to appeal to me.

(draft) Cloudy light brown. No head. Smelled like pumpkins to me, though I don't think it's supposed to. Flavor is gross, no other words seem necessary or appropriate. I only had a few sips and then decided that life is too short to drink beer like this.

(draft) As with all Imperial Stouts, this one took a few sips before my palate was numbed enough to appreciate it. A little more subdued than I was expeciting, absolutely drinkable. The alcohol was masked very well.

(draft) I first had this at the 2008 Fringe Fest. Apparently this version does not contain honey, and so I figured I wouldn't like it as much. Well, I figured wrong. Hazy light brown. A definite rye aroma and flavor. Something else, too. Nutmeg is my guess, though it could be way off. Pretty good.

(draft) I've gone ahead and updated this rating as this beer has become one of my favorites. Very little head, and the beer is a little flat. But the rye and honey play together quite nicely. One of the few semi-strong beers that I can get my swill-drinking friends to drink.

(draft) Hazy brown in color. Minimal head that lasted. Strong aroma of hops and alcohol. Flavor more of the same. I can see how most people would really like this beer, but it's not a style that I care for. Decent is all I can say.

(growler) Very dark red. Not much head, but the growler was several days old. The flavor and the aroma reminded me of oak aging, though I don't think this beer was oak aged. I'll call it decent for now.

Very well-balanced ale, probably meant to be a copy of Newcastle Brown Ale, and it is a very good copy indeed. A little more malty than the Newcastle, and a bit more of a bite at the end. A very good session beer.

(draft) Pale amber, fizzy, good head. All standard for Belgians of this type. Aroma seemed a tad stale to me. Flavor was average but subdued. The finish was very reminiscent of rubbing alcohol. Bitter and drying. I was disappointed with this beer, and I didn't drink very much of it.

Update 09 June 2011...

(bottle) Hazy Orange. A lot of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. No head. Citrusy Belgian aroma. Very nice light flavor, typical for the style. Maybe a touch more citrus than apple. Quite good.

(draft) Very smooth for so much alcohol. I really liked this, but I'd probably like it even more without the oaky undertones. Almost black with good head and lacing. There were subtle hints of vanilla and bourbon that were a very pleasant surprise. Very good, almost great.

(draft) More than black, this beer absorbed all light from within a radius of several feet. The tan head was fairly impressive as it lasted until the glass was empty. A light aroma of roasted malts, with a touch of coffee and chocolate in there as well. Flavor was almost all roasted malts, though the beer somehow managed to stay very well-balanced. Extrremely yummy.

(draft) Clear amber in color. No head at all. Zero. Smells a little bit like laundry detergent, of all things. Mounthfeel is meduim syrupy. The flavor is a little weird to me - as with all barleywines. There is a noticeable alcohol burn at the finish. Decent.

(draft) Recommended by the bartender. I didn't really give this beer a fair tasting. It was very roasty, and tasted a little burnt to me. Past experience tells me that if I'd finished the glass I'd probably have liked it better by then. I'll attempt to have this again someday.

(draft) Dark brown with a frothy white head. Mostly malty aroma with some roasted malts. Flavor much like the aroma. A lot like Newcastle Brown but with some of the malts roasted. Good. Not as good as the Brown.

Newcastle is one of those beers that tastes good from the first sip of the first glass to the last drop of the third glass. It's as steady as a rock. Not as flavorful as some of the beers I've been drinking recently, but it's extremely well-balanced, and with only 5% or so ABV, it makes a very good session beer.

(draft) A wonderful beer. Intensity everywhere from the aroma to
the flavor to the finish. Dark chocolate and quite a lot of roasted malt. A sweet burning finsh that made me want another sip right away.

(bottle) Very dark brown with a decent tan head. Aroma of hops and smoke and a little chocolate. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor much more malty than I was expecting. A little smoky, a little chocolatey, and a lot malty. Good, but also surprisingly drying. Needs more sweetness and smoke, I think.

(bottle) Black with nice brown foam. Aroma of roasted malts and not much else. Flavor of roasted malts and not much else. Quite a bit of malt bitterness at the finish. Everyone around me was raving about how great this beer was, but I didn't share their enthusiasm. Decent, but no better than that.

(bottle) Pours the color of cola with a small beige head. Aroma of smoke and malts and rye. Creamy and full mouthfeel. Surprising. Smoky and malty flavor with rye and alcohol bitterness at the finish. A very good beer.

(bottle) Almost black with a decent tan head that faded quickly. Aroma is mild smoke and chocolate. Flavor is mostly mild smoke flavor. I really like this because there's nothing competing with the smoke. Pretty damn good. My second-favorite smoked porter.

(bottle) I know I'd had this before, but I'd never reviewed it. As a Baltic Porter, it of course reminds me of my beloved Baltika 6. Dark and roasty and malty. Just a touch of alcohol burn at the finish makes me want more right away. Good.

(draft) Black with nice firm beige head. A light chocolate aroma, and a light chocolate flavor - reminded me of chocolate milk. Mouthfeel was a little thinner than I'd been expecting. There was a very slight alcohol burn at the finish. A pretty good beer.

(draft) Hazy gold. Nice whitish head. Aroma of bananas and spices. Kinda smells like a German wheat, but stronger. Fullish mouthfeel. Flavor a nice cross between a good German wheat and a good Belgian triple. Damn this place makes yummy beers.

(bottle) Cloudy yellow, with a nice white head. Aroma of apple and orange peels. Mouthfeel a little gritty. Flavor of a nice tripel but with some citusy undertones that I could do without. A little bit like a blend of a tripel and a saison. Pretty good, though.

(bottle) Clear light amber. Decent head. Aroma of orange and almost bourbony spices. Mouthfeel is creamy. Flavor is light and typical for the style. Finish a little citrusy, but not too bad. A good beer.

It was quite disgusting at first, but after an inch or so it started to taste pretty good. I suspect that my initial disgust was caused by the ESB still coating my mouth. At 8.5% it was too strong for me to risk getting a second opinion.

(bottle) Huge head, bordering on the ridiculous. Taste, as I expected, was that of a fairly mild Belgian. A little less sweet and a little more hoppy than I'd generally prefer, but a very good beer anyway.

(draft) Black with a small brown head. Malty aroma. Chewy mouthfeel. Flavor of roasted malts and alcohol. Nice smooth finish. Definitely an imperial stout, but without the alcohol burn of most. A yummy beer.

(bottle) Does weird necessarily equal good? If so, then this is a
very good beer. Very sour in both aroma and flavor. Supposedly oak-aged and stuff but I couldn't detect anything beyond the sourness. Fairly decent, but I cannot imagine ever having more than a single small glass.

(draft) I ordered this by mistake, as I'd thought I was ordering their hefeweissbier. I could not have been more wrong. I did have a few sips of this, to see if it was as disgusting as all dopplebocks are to me. It was. I only had those few sips.

(draft) Clear dark orange. Decent whitish head. Aroma of malts and orange peels. Wow. Very malty and spicy flavor. Not at all what I was expecting from the aroma, must be the honey showing up. Nice, though. A fairly mild alcohol burn at the finish. A good beer, but one would be plenty.

(draft) Good head. The color of very pale piss. Aroma is very slight, and of hops. Probably the palest, definitely the most watery, beer I've ever had. I'm rating this as swill only because it's so inoffensive. Otherwise it would get a rating of piss.

(draft) Nice and thick with very good lacing. A slightly different apple taste than I've had with other Belgians - maybe some caramel in there too? A very good beer that would probably kill me if I had more than two.

(draft) I see all these descriptions about sharp and hoppy and peppery - I got none of that. What I got was a pale beer with a huge head that didn't have much of anything in the way of aroma or flavor. What there was, however, was quite good. At 7.5%, this beer is a lot stronger than it tastes or smells.

(bottle) Hazy light orange, with no head to speak of. Light aroma of wood and apple peels. Fizzy appley mouthfeel and flavor. An irritating hoppy finish that does nothing to help anything. Decent is all I can say.

Had this on tap at a bar with the same name in Las Vegas. By the end of the week I knew I'd found my new favorite non-smoked beer. Perfectly balanced sweetness and bitterness, and also with a little touch of something special in the base flavor. Very tough to describe though.

(draft) Very good. Cloudy brown color, little head to speak of. Taste of apples that have almost gone sour. There were a couple of other, more subtle flavors. Maybe raisins and honey. I wanted more right away.

(draft) Take a bland IPA, and wash your socks in it. Then take it to your local steel mill, and use the same beer to wash the socks of everyone who works there. This just might give you a good idea of what this beer tastes and smells like. Actually, it would taste and smell better than the beer does, but I didn't want to go overboard with my description.

(draft) Clear gold in color. Looks like a lager, so scary. The flavor is awesome. There are the typical apple undertones, but this is a lot thicker-tasting than most saisons I've had. Damn good. Yummy actually.

There wasn't very much smoke, and what there was was the "grapey" kind of smoke that I don't really care for. To make matters worse, there was no bitterness, only sweetness behind the smoke, and those two flavors clashed quite a bit.

(bottle) Very dark ruby in color. Large head that faded fairly quickly. Aroma is very sour. The flavor is sour but not as much as the aroma indicated. Fairly light in alcohol, and so no strong finish at all. A pretty good beer.

(bottle) Clear dark ruby. Minimal foam that faded quickly. A very sour aroma, with a faint mustiness that might have just been my imagination. A nice and crisp flavor, with lingering sourness showing up at the finish. Tastes like it has more alcohol that it really has. Pretty good, but there are countless better beers out there.

(draft) Looks like a brown ale, smells like an alt, but tastes like an IPA. Bitter flavor followed with a bitter finish. An Altbier is supposed to be balanced, dammit! A very disappointing beer from one of my favorite breweries.

(draft) Cloudy brownish-orange. Small white head. Vague clean aroma of various fruit peels. Creamy mouthfeel. Very mild flavor of something I don't really want to think about. Decent, though. I've put this in the Belgian category because that's the kind of glass it was poured in.

(bottle) Black with a nice tan head that lasts. Aroma a little burnt, both malts and hops. Medium mouthfeel. Nice malty flavor, but then the lagerish finish takes over and sucks. Barely decent. I didn't finish the bottle.

Cloudy brown. This was a mild tasting ale that went down quite good and didn't seem too high in alcohol. A German Maibock, which I never would have guessed. Tastes like a Scotch Ale to me. Good. Gives me a wicked hangover though.

(draft) I had high hopes for this. That''ll teach me to have hopes, maybe. As far as I can tell, they made this beer by (a) taking some regular Dead Guy Ale, (b) watering down the flavor and upping the alcohol by pouring vodka into it, and then (c) spraying hairspray into the mixture. Basically, this beer had zero flavor except for its alcohol burn, and it had zero aroma except for alcohol/hairspray. A complete waste of both time and money.

(draft) Poured dirty orange. Aroma was musty - reminded me of a lambic. Taste also reminded me of a lambic, except this wasn't particularly sour. There was quite a bit of complication behind the obvious mustiness of the aroma and the flavor. I liked this beer.

(draft) Pretty good. This reminded me of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout more than anything else. A slight slant toward the coffee side of the flavor spectrum as opposed to the chocolate side. The fairly high ABV is very well hidden.

(bottle) Hard to find anything wrong with this beer. If I had to pick something it would be the high ABV which limits the amount that can be consumed. A yummy chocolately flavor with a fairly intense alcohol burn. Quite good, and I will be buying more bottles which I will try to let age.

(bottle) Fizzy clear amber with a nice white head. Looks like a lager to me. Aroma of malts and hops. Tastes like a mild APA, maybe a blonde. Decent if you like this kind of thing. I was expecting more than this.

(bottle) Very pale yellow with at least 90% white head at first. Once that dissipated, about an hour later, the beer revealed a grassy aroma. Watery mouthfeel. Flavor of a very mild American wheat. Just a hint of rose. Barely decent.

(draft) Very dark cherry revealed when held up to the light. A lot of complexity, but most of I think wasted as nothing stood out at all. I did think I got a little cherry at first but even that subsided by the second or third sip. Good, but not very memorable.

(draft) It was a good beer, not nearly as smoky as I'd been hoping, but the smoke flavor and aroma was still pretty apparent. It had a less wide-ranging and complex flavor than the Cone Smoker I get when I'm back home, but sometimes simpler is better. A little subdued. Quite yummy.

(bottle) Fizzy black with a huge tan head. The primary aroma is that of bananas, though chocolate is also detectable. Creamy flavor, mostly of roasted chocolate and some dryness that's probably the peanut butter. Not as flavorful as I'd have liked. Weird and decent.

(bottle) Fizzy amber with a large white head. Strong aroma of maple syrup and a touch of smoke. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of maple syrup is pretty much overpowering anything else that might be there. Weird, and just barely decent.

(draft) Hazy dark copper. Generous heaping head. Aroma of stale toffee. Flavor pretty decent, with a touch of oddness that I couldn't quite define. Finish was almost bitter, but not quite. This beer deserves a second chance.

UPDATE 071208: Okay I gave this beer its second chance at the Atlanta airport. I've upgraded it to good, because it was good.

(bottle) Came highly recommended. I was looking for something chocolately, and I guess this fit that bill. I have to say that it didn't live up to its aroma though. A sublt mix of chocolate and coffee flavor. A slight bitter finish. Quite good, but not great.

(draft) Dark bronze. Very light foam. A strong aroma of whatzit and orange. The flavor was mostly whatzit, with some light orange peel thrown in. Despite the citrus, I did like this beer. I just wish I knew what the whatzit really was.

It's always a crap shoot as to whether a hefeweizen is in the true German style or the crappy American style. This was American, so I didn't like it. As with most beers, however, this did get better as the glass got emptier. By the end, it was passable. This is not the beer's fault - I just don't like the style.

(Draft) black with absilolitely zero head or fizz. Aroma of roasted malts and alcohol and vanilla. Thick mouthfeel. Flavor of roasted malts with a touch of vanilla. Smooth finish hinting at the 10.5% ABV. Very good.

(bottle) Clear copper in color. Small head that disippated almost immediately. A very nice aroma of cinnamon and other spices. Medium mouthfeel. Very good flavor of all sorts of spices and, of course, pumpkin. The 8% ABV is hidden very well. A very good beer.

(draft) A very nice surprise. Dark clear amber. Minimal head. No detectable aroma. The yummy malty and fruity flavor came out of nowhere. There are supposed to be citrus adjuncts but I couldn't detect them at all.

(draft) Tried some the other night and wasn't impressed. Had a full glass tonight and still wasn't impressed, but it certainly went down easier. For all the hops and malts used, I should have detected more complexity. Just a decent beer that does a very good job of hiding its high ABV.

(bottle) Hazy copper in color. No head to speak of, but some lacing. Fairly strong aroma of pumpkin and vanilla. There was a lagerish fizziness that I didn't care for, but the flavor was good and the finish was sweet and smooth. Pretty good.

(bottle) Fizzy orange with a white head that vanished quickly. Fairly strong blueberry aroma, along with light citrus. Creamy mouthfeel. Light flavor of malts and a hint of blueberries. A very slight bitterness at the finish that's almost immediately gone. Decent, almost good.

(Bottle) Recommended by my swill consultant. Room temperature, hazy dark brown. Aroma and flavor of malts and light hops. Not too bad, not too good. I'd probably try this again if I ever see it cold and on tap.

(bottle) Fizzy light gold. Decent white head that dissipates quickly.Aroma of Jolly Rancher watermelon and green apple candies. Fizzy and thin mouthfeel. Flavor like the aroma, but also with a touch of hoppiness. Not too bad. Decent, I'd say.

(bottle) Fizzy yellow. Nice white head that fades quickly. Light aroma of spices and some pumpkin in there, too.watery mouthfeel. Very light flavor of pumpkin and mild spices. Decent is all I can say about this one. There are a zillion better pumpkin beers out there.

(bottle) Clear gold, with lots of bubbles. Decent white head. Aroma of the kind of hops that I don't like and metal. Bitter and thin at first. Got slightly better by the end of the first bottles, but it still sucked.

(bottle) I've never been a big fan of this brewery, and this beer did nothing to change that. A decent coffee flavored porter with the typical Sierra Nevada lagerish finish. It got better the more I drank, but it never quite reached the point of being good.

(bottle) Hazy copper in color. Huge white head. Medium mouthfeel. Not a lot of aroma or initial flavor - it kinda seemed like a brown ale. After a few sips, the dryness of the rye started to show in the finish. A fairly mild rye beer, but a good one.

(draft) A lager by any other name is still a lager, and I still don't like it. Kind of a sickly-sweet taste that I can't really describe and I don't want to drink more of it just to get a better description.

Highly recommended to me by a coffee lover, so I was expecting coffee flavor to the beer. This instead has a good chocolate base to the flavor. A little extra bite at the end, because of the 7.2 ABV, that I could have done without. Good though. A little bitter

(bottle) Hazy dark yellow. Decent head that faded rather quickly. Much more yeasty aroma than others of this style, quite intriguing, though. Mouthfeel a little thin, but standard for the style. Flavor pretty much what the aroma had led me to believe. Apples and yeasts, and some spices in there as well. Pretty goddamn good. I will definitely have more of this.

A sampling of this beer was intriguing enough for me to order a full glass. There was a slight watery taste that at first turned me off, but after a few sips I started to imagine, believe it or not, a slight peaty characteristic to the water. This has since become one of my favorite session beers. Nice and mild, and low enough in alcohol that I could drink it all night.

(draft) With a name like Smuttynose, it has to be good, right? Right. A very strong chocolate aroma and flavor. Like the NABC Haggisdaddy Stout it reminded me of, this would probably be good poured over ice cream

(draft) Slightly hazy gold. Smallish head that seems to last. Aroma of wheat and bananas and maybe a little alcohol. Flavor surprisingly complex and good. A slight alcohol burn at the finish. I like it. It's quite gimmicky, though, with all the alcohol.

(draft) Clear black with a smallish beige head. Definitely smells like a pumpkin ale. Pumpkin and spices. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor mostly of the pumpkin with a little of the imperial stout heritage at the finish.

(bottle) Clean light copper. Zero head, I mean zero. Aroma of spices with a little pumpkin in the background. A little watery mouthfeel. Spices predominate the flavor. Not much pumpkin flavor. Decent is all I can say.

I asked some regulars what was the wimpiest beer at Rich O's and was told it was Spaten Lager. I had one of these to field-test it for my sister and it was indeed wimpy. I wish I could think of a better descriptor.

(draft) Amber in color, with a slightly sweet smoke aroma. Much lighter in smoke than other rauchbiers, but sometimes that's a good thing. A very good session beer. Usually when this available on tap I drink it exclusively.

(draft) Touted as being "like Blue Moon" and I suppose that's not too much of a lie. A decent Belgian wheat, but with lagerish undertones and a touch too much citrus. Kind of a blend of Belgian and American wheats.

(draft) One of those beers that takes a long time to pour. Once in a glass, the head faded fairly quickly. I detected a strong oak smell until the head had gone, then lots of malt and alcohol with some fruit. The alcohol-bitter aftertaste reminded me strongly of bourbon. I liked this, but I'd recommend it to close out a session instead of beginning one.

(draft) Extremely dark red, with a large beige head that lasted until the glass was empty. An aroma and flavor of malts and dark fruits. Flavor like the aroma, though not as strong as I was expecting. The only thing hinting at the high ABV% was the overall drying quality of the beer. Good.

(bottle) Hazy brown, decent head that lasts forever. The aroma is mild, fairly malty and funky. Flavor is sharp - more hoppy bitterness than I was expecting, or desiring. Underlying flavors are raisins and a hint of coffee. This beer wasn't what I was expecting at all. Decent is all I can say.

(bottle) Hazy gold. Large white head that was kind of a pain in the ass. A very nice aroma of citrus and spices and flowers. Mouthfeel was very fizzy. Flavor of apples and Belgian hops, but very well-balanced. The large yeast flakes at the bottom of the bottle really grossed me out. Still a damn fine beer.

(bottle) Black, revealing dark red when held up to a strong light. Good head and lacing. Strong aroma or malts and dark fruits. Medium mouthfeel, and a strong fruity flavor tempered by roasted malts. A very sweet finish. Good.

(draft) Clear copper with a firm white head. Aroma of flowers and bubble gum - very intriguing. Flavor was very complex and hard to describe. There was definitely some lingering hop bitterness at the finish but it was accompanied by the complex flavors so it wasn't overpowering at all. An IPA that I actually like. Wonders never cease.

Black with a thin brown head that faded quickly. Aroma was milder than I was expecting - chocolate and malts. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor was malts and chocolate, but it seemed tame. The finish was very strong chocolate, almost too strong. It was only after my taste buds had been beaten into submission that I was able to really appreciate the finish. Lingering and coating dark chocoloate. A very damn good beer.

(draft) First off, looks fantastic. Black with a firm brown head, I was almost reluctant to drink it for fear of messing up the head. Flavor is a nice chocolate, with just a hint of bitterness about halfway through. I was a little surprised, and a little disappointed, that the ABV is so high on this one. I'd love to be able to have more than one.

(bottle) Cloudy light brown with a smallish tan head. Light aroma of oak and malts. Chewy mouthfeel. Light flavor with a little smoke and malts. Alcohol burn is fairly prevalent. Decent, though not as good as I'd hoped.

It was pretty good beer actually, not as strong of a smoke flavor as some of the other smoked porters I've had, but enough to be recognizable, and enough to be pretty good. I'll call it "smoked porter light."

(bottle) The color of dark tea. No head to speak of. Subdued aroma of apple peels and caramel. Medium mouthfeel, a little coating. Flavor a bit stronger than I was expecting. Nicely balanced apples and caramel, with a touch of oak perhaps. A very nice beer.

(bottle) Fizzy orange. Minimal head. Citrusy aroma. Smooth mouthfeel, a little tangy at the finish. Typical for the style - apples and a little citrus. Decent and almost good. Nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't seem worth the wait of more than 9 years.

(bottle) The color of flat cola. No head. Aroma of malts and molasses. Medium mouthfeel. Fairly biting flavor of molasses and dark-roasted malts. Tastes like a barleywine to me. A good beer, but not a great one.

(bottle) Hazy black color, decent head that faded quickly. Smells fantastic, with dark fruits and maybe even some chocolate. Flavor is fruity and creamy. There's a lingering bitter finish that I don't care for at all. A decent beer.

(bottle) I'm calling this a Belgian because I don't have any better ideas. Cloudy orange when backlit. No foam. An aroma of citrus that was a little bit intoxicating all on its own. Flavor of malts and oranges and light hops. This was a surprisingly good beer, as I usually don't care for citrus. Almost yummy.

(bottle) Clear and fizzy golden in color. Nice white head that lasted long enough. The aroma was of apples and pumpkins. The flavor was decidedly weird. Apples and pumpkins and dark fruits - it was a little too weird for my tastes. I didn't finish the bottle. Decent is all I can say.

(bottle) Color of clear burgundy. Light tan head. Aroma a little musty and slightly spicy. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor a little weird, and not in a good way. Finish spicy-bitter. Gets better after a few sips. A good beer, but not a great one.

(bottle) Cloudy brown with a large white head. Aroma of grapefruit and alcohol. Medium mouthfeel. Very hoppy but balanced with malts until after swallowing when the finish is quite bitter and lasting. Probably a very good beer, but it's not my style, so all I can say is decent.

(draft) Clear amber in color, with a large white head. The aroma and the flavor were both of yeasts and malts, with a hint of blueberries. No bitterness. Could have had more flavor, but still pretty good.

(draft) Clear coppery-brown in color. Large white head that lasted forever. The aroma was of light coffee and roasted malts. Mouthfeel very creamy and smooth. The flavor was mostly malty, with just a touch of coffee that I could have done without. Pretty damn good.

(draft) Cloudy yellow/orange. A nice head that faded quickly. This is a very citrusy Belgian when it first enters the mouth, but then the pumpkin takes over and coats the mouth with sweetness, then there were some nice spices in the finish. Just yummy. It seemed like it had a high ABV, but its 10.5% still surprised me.

Clear copper. Whitish head that faded quickly. Aroma of, duh, pumpkin and spices. Medium mouthfeel. Spicy pumpkin flavor that fades and leaves a creamy finish. More spicy than pumpkiny. Damn good, though, at least on draft. I've had a bottle as well, and it kinda sucked.

(bottle) a completely unknown beer - I'm actually guessing that it's their brown ale. Pours the color of cola, with a minimal tan head that vanished instantly. Light aroma of malts and grasses. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of a mild brown ale, so that's what I'm going to call it. A good beer.

(draft) In memory of TallLady. Clear light amber. Huge white head. Strong floral and citrusy aroma. Creamy mouthfeel. Nice flavor, much more tame than I was expecting. No detectable bitterness, which is fine with me. Actually decent, almost good.

(draft) Of all the beers at Rich O's, this one is perhaps the one that's been recommended to me most often. Frankly, I don't understand all the hype. It is a good beer, but not a great one. I think my main problem was the gritty feeling I got in my mouth while drinking it. It almost seemed like there was something that hadn't quite dissolved all the way. By the end of the glass it was better. Other than the gritty mouthfeel, this beer smelled and looked fantastic, and it had a really good flavor - one that wasn't nearly as sweet as I was expecting. A very drinkable beer, but any place that has this probably has something better as well.

(bottle) Hazy reddish amber. No appreciable head. Aroma of molasses and dark fruits. Flavor of dark fruits, with a noticeable alcohol bite. Very dry finish. Only decent, but barleywines aren't my favorites to begin with, so this is as good as any.

Had a sample, and was intrigued enough to have a half-pint next. Hazy yellow in color. Good head and great lacing. Aroma was mostly floral, with a touch of the bubble gum scent that was expected because of the beer's name. Flavor was pretty damn good. Intense, but it never quite got to the point where it was overpowering. A little citrusy, not bitter at all. A little weird. I liked it a lot.

(draft) Fizzy black with a nice tan head. Nice aroma of chocolate and roasted malts. Thickish mouthfeel. Very malty and smooth flavor. Creamy like chocolate, but only a bit of sweetness. Very very good.

(draft) Cloudy dirty yellow. Decent head that faded within a few minutes. A light aroma of citrus and Belgian yeast. Fairly thick mouthfeel, and a grapefruit tartness that surprised me. The finish was a little dry. I'd classify this as a dubbel instead of a saison, but whatever it it, it's pretty good.

(draft) A nice dark brown color that revealed red when help up to light. I thought the taste was very good, though there seemed to be a slight gritty feel until the head had dissipated. The slightly bitter finish made me want to drink again to get back to the nice flavor. Not recommended on an empty stomach, as I wanted another pint but had to decline.

draft) Clear dark amber. Light tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and chocolate. Thin mouthfeel. Flavor of coffee and licorice. Smooth finish. Decent, though I totally disagree with this being called a baltic porter. It's barely even a porter.

(bottle) Dark reddish brown with a complicated aroma that seemed to include cola. Started out bitter but finished very sweet. A very thick mouthfeel and a very nice flavor that made me drink very quickly. Quite yummy, but perhaps not as yummy as the $15 I paid for it would indicate.

(bottle) Quite an interesting beer. Very complex, with flavors I don't think I've ever encountered before. The stuff was good, though perhaps just a little too fruity for me to say I really liked it. I will have it again sometime though.

(draft) That first taste nearly overpowered me. I still can't believe that this beer comes from a brewpub catering to the flavor-impaired masses. Very chocolately, very roasty, very delicious. One of the best porters I've ever had.

I have to say that despite the long-winded name this is one of the best beers I've had in a long time. Smooth, not too strong, not too weak. What an excellent session beer! I wish I could describe it more clearly. "Drinkable" is the word that comes to mind most often. Malty and complex. Neither too sweet nor too bitter. Yummy.

(bottle) Ridiculous heaping head. Hazy dark copper in color - almost brown. Aroma of hops and roasted malts. Medium-thin mouthfeel. The flavor was quite surprisingly bitter at first, but th efinish was smooth. Good, but not even close to great.

(bottle) Hazy orange. Pretty good head that faded quickly. Aroma was "tangy" if that makes any sense. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of balanced citrus and Belgian hops. Reminded me of a saison, but with much more flavor. Yummy.

(bottle) Although supposedly a Belgian wheat, this had much of the aroma and flavor of a German wheat. If I had to put a label on it, I'd say that is was a blend of those two excellent styles. A very good beer from what is becoming one of my favorite breweries.

(bottle) Cloudy yellow, with a decent amount of foam. Aroma of wheat and malt and a touch of oak. Flavor quite similar to Belgian wheat ales. Goes down very easily, the alcohol is very well hidden. Yummy.

(bottle) Very dark, almost black. A smallish head that faded almost instantly. It had a very dry aroma and flavor. More like wood than the fruit I'd been expecting. A very good beer though. It certainly didn't taste like it was 10.5% ABV.

(draft) Quite yummy actually. This surprised me until I remember that the same brewer makes La Fin Du Monde. If I had to describe this, and I guess I do, I'd call it Newcastle on steroids.Dark amber. Nice head. Sweet and malty aroma and flavor. I want more right now please.

(bottle) Hazy brown with a good-sized head. Faint aroma typical of Belgians of this style. Flavor fruity and malty, light but extremely well-balanced. Yummy. Also, I hope nobody ever points a gun at my head and tries to make me pronounce this thing, because, if so, then I'm dead.

(draft) My first impression was that this beer was simply a relabeled Smithwick's. After a bit, however, I did begin to notice a slight hint of bitterness. More like a hint of a hint actually. Smithwick's is better.

(draft) Stupid name for a beer, but for a band it might be cool. Black with a nice brown head. Aroma of roasted malts and oak. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor of roasted malts and chocolate and something indescribable, but yummy. One of the best new beers I've had in a very long time.

(draft) Very fizzy. Too damn fizzy. There was too much citrus and it was a little sour tasting. In other words, it's an American wheat beer. It's sole purpose may be for those nights when I don't really feel like drinking beer.

(draft) It reminds me of the Great Lakes Christmas Ale that I enjoyed so much a few months ago. There was some fruitiness that I will call raspberry and some nutmeg as well. My only real problem with this beer is that it's rather strong and I cannot safely have more than one.

This beer is evil. Pure evil. To taste the way it does, which is actually fairly mild, but to pack that much alcohol - well like I said it's evil. As I said, a fairly mild (and fairly standard) Belgian taste. A slight alcohol finish is the only thing that hints at the wolf underneath this sheep's clothing.

(bottle) Very malty and sweet. There might have been some chocolate and/or coffee flavor under all that malt, but I couldn't be sure. Mouthfeel was creamy and sticky. Finished like it had a higher ABV than it really did.

(draft) Pours clear and golden with a large long-lasting head. Nice aroma of apple peels and malts. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Flavor more malty than most tripels, maybe some caramel in there that coats the mouth. Quite damn good.

(bottle) Hazy light brown. No head to speak of. Aroma of malts and alcohol. Medium mouthfeel. Fruity and malty with a noticeable alcohol burn at the finish. Pretty good, but also quite strong at 12% ABV.

(draft) Took a long time to drink - it's pretty filling. Very nice aroma and a good flavor. This beer has convinced me that I now like hefeweissbiers - though I like the non-dunkel version a lot more. Seemed to affect me more than its 5.3% alcohol would suggest.

UPDATE 08/13/07: Accidentally had a bit of this. There was a sourness that I didn't remember from before, a sourness that I didn't care for very much. I gave most of the glass back.

(bottle) Accidentally bought this instead of the Hefe. It wasn't undrinkable. Very pale gold. Slight hoppiness, but nothing too offensive. Decent, which is saying a lot when I pretty much hate the style.

(draft) Hazy greenish-yellow, with a minimal white head. Aroma of bananas and wheat, typical for the style. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor typical for a German Wheat, but with more of everything. Fucking yummy.

(bottle) Fizzy amber with a diminishing white head. Strong aroma of bananas and maybe cloves. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor not as strong as the aroma had led me to expect. Bananas and malts. Finish is coating and sweet. Decent. Not as good as I'd hoped.

(bottle) Cloudy dark brown. Minimal head. Aroma of malt and cola. Flavor more of the same. A bit of a musty taste at first that grew on me. Not a lot of fruit in the flavor, just malt and cola. Pretty damn good.

(bottle) Almost black, with a ridiculous head that lasted forever. Fruity and malty aroma. Flavor fruity and a little more dry than I had been expecting, because of the high ABV I suppose. Finish a little dry as well, which made me want another sip right away. A very good beer. Best in the world? Probably not.

(draft) The bartender didn't know if this was an American or German wheat, so I had a pint to find out. What it is is a very weak American wheat. Very little aroma or flavor. Since I don't like American wheats, this one was actually very tolerable.

(draft) Clear bronze. A very interesting vanilla and smoke aroma. Despite the name, there wasn't even the tiniest hint of bourbon. A nice medium mouthfeel, with vanilla and light smoke in the flavor as well. Pretty fucking good. I don't care who makes it.

(draft) Hazy yellow. Huge head. Aroma maybe a little woody, hard to describe. Flavor was mostly sweet molasses and caramel. The bitter sting at the finish I attributed to alcohol, and not hops. Decent, not quite good.

(bottle) Wow. I wasn't expecting a beer this special. The label says "Belgian Ale Brewed with Juniper Berries." There's not a whole lot that I can add to that description, but I owe it more. Very dark red, almost purple. Aroma of dark fruits and juniper and grapes. Indescribable flavor. Finish a little drying. Flat-out yummy. If there's a better beer on Earth, then I haven't had it. I want more right now and always.

(draft) Looks like grapefruit juice. Smells pretty good, kind of like a blend of Belgian and German wheat styles. Flavor was more of the same. Nothing wrong with this beer at all, but nothing really right about it either.

(bottle) Black with a smallish but lasting tan head. Strong aroma of roasted malts with a touch of smoke. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor fairly intense with alcohol burn all the way through the finish. Malty and maybe a little smoke evident but hidden behind the alcohol. Good, I suppose.

(bottle) Pours black with a minimal tan head. Aroma of oak and bourbon. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is malty and a little smoky and the bourbon shows up in the finish. Actually good. Much better than the aroma led me to expect.

(draft) I was expecting more from this beer for some reason, but I should have known better. This is, after all, the brewery that touts their chocolate stout as "double" chocolate even though it's clearly the weakest of any that I've ever had. But enough ranting. A decent brown ale with a touch of something that I couldn't identify - there's not enough of whatever it is.

(bottle) Clear amber. Decent head that faded quickly. Malty aroma with just a hint of hops. The taste was actually pretty decent, though subdued. Malt and maybe some caramel in there, with a bit of that damn lagerish fizziness that I can't stand. No bitterness though. A decent beer, almost a good beer.

(bottle) The aroma was almost overpowering at first, but after that it was hard to even detect. The flavor was mild and tasty. It was kind of strange to pull a cork on a bottle of beer and find something this generic inside. Good, but not great.